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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who played difficult music fast and accurately but died in 1951 at the piano in Carnegie Hall?

2. With whom did Arthur Rubinstein share an uneasy friendship but recognized each other's strengths?

3. Whose powerful opening made orchestra conductor Eugen Pabst leave the podium to watch his hands and the "audience went wild"?

4. At what age did Isaac Albebiz catch a train to a casino where he played piano for guests and gamblers?

5. Where was Josef Hofmann born?

Short Essay Questions

1. When did Josef Hofmann make his American debut? What toll did it take on him?

2. Compare the style and works of Busoni and Godowsky. How does the author relate their philosophical differences?

3. What nickname did Leopold Godowsky earn? Why?

4. What Polish pianists are described in Chapter XXIV, The Chopinzee, the Buddha, and Others in addition to de Pachmann and Godowsky?

5. What example is given to illustrate modernist principles with Josef Hofmann?

6. Who were the forerunners of modernism? How did modernism differ from romanticism?

7. How are Alfred Brendel and Maurizio Pollini described in Chapter XXXVII, Two Cult Figures?

8. When did Glenn Gould retire? What emotional disturbances did he suffer from?

9. What was the impact of the Russian Revolution of 1917 on music?

10. What was the critical and public response to Busoni's performances?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare the styles, philosophies, and techniques of Anton Rubinstein and his student Josef Hofmann. What style was Hofmann a forerunner of?

Essay Topic 2

When and where was Louis Moreau Gottschalk born? Where did he rise to fame? When did he make his American debut and where?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the works and impact of William Sterndale Bennett, Theodore Dohler, and Stephen Heller. When did these pianists rise to prominence? What were they known for stylistically?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 780 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample